


Realizing Potential

by serafina19



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 07:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5860060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serafina19/pseuds/serafina19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five minutes left in his Thanksgiving shift, Greg was looking forward to spending the rest of the night alone. Then Rebecca Bunch walks in. AU ending to “My First Thanksgiving with Josh.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Realizing Potential

Overall, it had been a slow Thanksgiving at Home Base, but that was probably for the best. Greg never got why they were open so late today, especially since most people watched the big game elsewhere. Then again, he supposed this was what he deserved for thinking things were going to be different this year, that he was finally going to get out of West Covina.

At least Greg could find comfort in the fact that he could continue taking care of his dad. It wasn't going to be easy, continuing to pay those hospital bills, but his savings covered them for awhile. Besides, for his dad, business school could wait because he was the one person who was always there for Greg. It wasn't like going to business school had an expiration date and maybe the next time he built up his savings, he'd have better luck and follow through on his plans.

Until then, he would pick up the paltry tips as his customers started to leave. Greg considered cutting out a little early, but right when his last customer left, Rebecca walked in, and something told him this wasn't going to be short.

When she didn't acknowledge him and sat down on one of the stools, he decided to speak up. “Okay, this isn’t a good sign.”

Clearly in her own world, it took a fair amount of time before she noticed him there. Then she pointed at him and said, “Hey, you’re not wearing a black t-shirt.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked down at his blue shirt, but he wasn’t letting her get to him tonight. “Yeah, when you go for the snark over your _I need something_ voice, I know something's up. Spill."

“Never mind," she replied, waving one hand while the other covered her face. “Just pour me something.”

Forgetting that it was already past last call, Greg asked, "Anything in particular?" Sure, he knew her preferences, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

She shrugged. “Isn’t a prerequisite for being a bartender knowing what I order?”

“Maybe in New York," he countered. "Here in West Covina, that’s not how ordering works.” Still, he started putting together a vodka-cranberry after glancing at his shirt once more. He didn’t wear black that much, did he?

He heard her scoff behind him. “Right.”

“Look, Rebecca," he said, grabbing the cranberry juice and pouring it in the glass. "As much as I’m enjoying this banter, and _I am_ , really, what are you doing here?”

She wasn't happy, which seemed strange because of how much she was looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with Josh's family.

Of course, she didn’t answer his question. “I thought you quit this job.”

Ah yes, that was a lovely reminder. “Nice try, but you’re not deflecting to talk about me that easily," he said, still grabbing her an extra cherry. The lime was the usual accompaniment, but last week, she had begged him to use cherries instead. At the time, he said no, but tonight, she looked like she could use it, and he wasn't that heartless.

When he put the drink in front of her, she shook her head. "Thanks," she said, tempted to add that, apparently, it wasn’t that difficult for him to figure out what she wanted. But Rebecca bit her tongue when she saw the cherries in her glass. No need to make Greg change his mind.

She lifted the glass to take a sip, but it wasn’t long before her stomach reminded her of the state she had left the Chans. Initially, she was tempted to screw the consequences, but settled on eating one of the cherries instead. That couldn't hurt any worse than what she had gone through, right? Or at least, not any worse than how she really felt about the results from this evening. She wanted to be happy for Josh, because his happiness mattered most. That was the right thing to think, but that feeling wouldn’t stick, no matter how hard she tried. It didn’t help that her stomach had been doing the complaining for her until a half-hour ago.

But even as she sat here, she knew that she needed a distraction, as guilt started to settle in over cancelling Thanksgiving with her mom over text. Kind of dick move on her part, but she didn’t want to explain once more to her mom why she had moved here.

All these thoughts only intensified her desire to have some of her drink, but Rebecca pushed it forward and then looked up to watch Greg wash down the counters. For him, this was part of his routine, but it wasn’t hard to notice how mentally drained he was. The weird thing was that sometimes, she envied his job. He got to meet so many interesting people, learned their stories, without having to do anything but keep their glass full.

When he went to the back room, her gaze returned to her drink. Her stomach seemed to be fine, so she ate the other cherry, chewing it as she thought about her life, about that stupid butter commercial that convinced her to come here.

The strange thing was… she was happy in West Covina. She had friends, she found her inner bravery personally and professionally. It was better than New York, despite the setbacks and mistakes she had made along the way, because Rebecca had an actual life.

That included the person who had sat down on the stool next to hers. “What are you doing?” she asked, because Greg had never done this in all her visits here. At this point, she figured that he thrived behind that counter, or he now preferred having a barrier of some sort between them.

But he didn't move from his seat. Instead he leaned forward, stretching his arms on the counter. “I thought this conversation should be with my friend, not my customer.”

“But no one else is working tonight.”

“Look around." He gestured his hand around the room. "You see any other customers?” Plus, the door was already locked, so with no interruptions, he figured this was a safe space.

“So we are officially still friends?” she asked, as the last she heard, when it came to him, she wasn’t a good friend. Or at least, not to him.

“Somehow,” he replied, taking a sip from the water glass in front of him. “You're a hard woman to say _no_ to.”

God knows he had tried to leave her behind. Two disastrous dates should have been enough. Yet, whenever he tried, she would find a way to remind him that she was worth getting to know. Furthermore, instead of completely ignoring him, Rebecca wanted Greg in her life. When it came to woman, that was rare.

“Greg, I am really –”

“Please,” he said, closing his eyes because he knew where this was going. “Don’t apologize again. You’re great at apologizing, but the message has been received." Opening his eyes, he tried to grin at her. "I’d rather we keep moving forward.”

“Speaking of, you really don’t know why I’m here?" Reaching into her purse, Rebecca pulled out her phone, anticipating numerous notifications, most of which had nothing to do her. "I figured Valencia would be rubbing it in everyone’s faces.”

He shrugged. “My phone died two hours ago. What happened?”

“They’re moving in together. Her and... Josh, I mean." Sure enough, all of her social media notifications were active. Rebecca's head popped up as she tried to read Greg's reaction to the news. "You're happy for them, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," he said. Honestly, it wasn't really his business. Josh was kind of a pushover when it came to Valencia, but it was his life. It wasn't like Greg's life was anything to write about.

"What do you mean, you guess?"

Of course, he should have known that wasn't enough to satisfy her endless curiosity. "How do you feel?"

She noticed his veiled attempt to dodge the question, and wasn't about to let him get away with it. "So you can deflect and I can't?"

"I'm not in love with Valencia. Or Josh."

"Neither am I," she replied, and if he didn't know her that well, Greg would almost believe that she meant it.

But he did know her, and knew it was crap. “So you're not in love with the guy you moved across the country for?"

“I didn’t leave New York for Josh. I needed –”

While she tried to explain, Greg shook his head. “I know, and I get needing a change. There’s nothing more that I want than to get out of this place, but I don’t have a six-figure salary to cover my dad’s hospital bills."

 _Okay_ , he thought, _that got a little off-topic_. After clearing his throat, he added, "But stop kidding yourself. Maybe he's not why you’re still here, but he’s why you came here.”

She nodded slowly and put her drink down again. The cherries were one thing, but she knew that alcohol would be pushing things. “While I agree to disagree, on the off-chance that you're right, what difference does that make?”

That was a harder answer, one Greg wasn't sure that she wanted to hear. "The thing is, you think you always have to please people, or be this person Josh would want. But at this rate, people can’t tell what facets of your personality are actually you. If I’m right, then –”

“Hold on a second. I do _not_ always try to please people," she interjected, a response that meant with the typical Serrano laugh.

It wasn't long before he started counting the ways she was wrong. "You practically copied Valencia a few weeks ago. You asked me what type Josh likes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but your goal in going to the Chans tonight was to impress his parents, right?”

He waited for a second, and he didn’t get any indication from Rebecca to the contrary. “And like I said, it isn't always about Josh. I'm not about to forget that you almost ruined a family to prove to _me_ that you're a good person.”

To Rebecca, the key word for the last example was _almost._ “Hey, I thought all's well that ends well.”

“You salvaged that because you realized that it wasn’t about you." It maybe wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she was the one who came to him. Or maybe she didn't and he was overreacting to this. 

He was in too deep to stop, but least he could also show her the positive side to her personality. "Don’t get me wrong, your… quirks are cute at times. Sometimes your dramatic side actually delivers." When she grinned, he returned the expression. "But beneath all that, there’s this incredible person. There's nothing wrong with letting her shine more.”

It took her a few seconds to reply, as everything he said was sinking in. Eventually, she said, "You do realize that you called me incredible …and cute.” 

Of course, she would make a joke out of it. He almost rolled his eyes, but he caught her expression first and realized that she was also thankful for the advice. “Tell anyone and I’ll deny it,” Greg said, although the idea that he thought she was cute wasn’t exactly new. He was the hopeless fool who thought there was something between them. Twice.

Not to mention the fact that, even now, he was still fighting his feelings for her.

Luckily for him, Rebecca was stuck on a few things that Greg had said earlier. If it wasn’t obvious before that he was bummed to be back at Home Base, it was now. For all she knew, he didn't even have a chance to do his Netflix speech. In fact, for a few seconds there, he let her in, except she let him focus on her problems... as usual.

“For what it’s worth," she said, stirring her drink, "New York really wasn’t that great.” 

Again, he fought her with skepticism. “Yeah, it’ll take all of your Ivy League education to convince me that working as a bartender next to a baseball diamond in California is cooler than New York.”

 “I'm serious." She turned her body to face him, trying to prove her point. "You need that paycheck just to be able to afford rent, the city is overcrowded and I was on seven mood stabilizers.”

The look Greg gave her then was earned, as she probably didn’t have to disclose that. But it wasn’t like she could take it back, so she added, “Things maybe haven't gone according to plan here, but my head’s in a better place.”

“Is it wrong that worries me?”

Rebecca laughed. “Probably not.” But it was true, even though she didn’t have the courage to tell him that she had become so numb that the idea of a promotion gave her an anxiety attack. "I was practically a zombie workaholic there. You wouldn't have recognized me. I never took a sick day and I honestly don't know if I had any friends."

It was something that he predicted during the taco festival, teasing her about a mental breakdown, and while she didn’t admit it outright, it felt refreshing to disclose a part of the truth with someone.

"I'm sorry," he said, and she could tell that he meant it. A rare chink in his armour.

She poked her finger against his arm and grinned, not swayed when his eyebrows raised. “See? That right there. You do care about people," Rebecca said, watching him about to interject, but she kept talking.  "And your life isn't so bad. You’re doing a noble thing looking after your dad, you’re the voice of reason for your friends and someday, you will go to business school. Your dreams aren’t out of reach yet.”

For some reason, her words gave him the strangest sense of déjà vu. “What do you know about my dreams?”

“Despite your thoughts about me, I do listen. It's the least I can do considering you waste time finding hope in me.” When she told Greg to stop caring about her, despite his best efforts, he didn’t. He also respected her enough to not disclose the truth about their date to Josh, and while Greg didn’t technically forgive her, he didn’t dismiss her from his life either.

In other words, he had every reason to give up on her, but for some reason, he could still call her a friend. For that reason, she wanted to ensure that he didn’t regret that decision.

That led to Rebecca remembering something, causing her to snap her fingers. Ignoring the way Greg had jumped in his seat, she said, “Have you thought of night school? I know you probably think I’m overstepping, but –”

“No,” he interjected, a little thrown that her epiphany was a surprisingly good idea with no possible hidden agenda. “It’s actually… you know what it is.”

Rebecca shook her head. She could see that he knew exactly what that gesture was, and it was stupid that he couldn’t bring himself to say it. “You know what, you should take your own advice,” she blurted, not caring about the look he gave her. “You’re so focused on being grumpy and negative that most people would get scared away. But you’re a catch Greg Serrano. The sooner you realize that, the better.”

He bit back the easy comeback to that sentiment, as he could see she was genuinely trying to be helpful. Instead, Greg let a smile crack through and took note of the light in her eyes. “You want to get out of here and get some food?”

“What about your shift?”

After standing up, Greg moved behind the counter. “We were closed two minutes after you got here. I was cleaning up while you were having your drink and locked the door. But we should probably leave before I get in trouble with my boss.” 

“What is he going to do?” She intended to laugh, but a snort came out instead. Not her finest moment, but she didn’t dwell in it. “Fire you after you quit and got your job back?”

Greg scoffed. “You're right. I’m not sure that Kevin’s capable of firing anyone, but I’m not taking the chance.”  He pointed towards her drink, and for the first time, he recognized that it still looked full. “Have you even started drinking that?”

“No,” she said, pushing the glass towards Greg. “I remembered the half-hour that I spent in my bathroom due to my stomach doing hurdles after dinner and figured that it probably wasn't the best idea.”  At least the cherries weren’t bringing her back to square one. “Regardless, I guess I should pay.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said as he finished washing the glass. Technically, she was the one who owed him a drink, but he wasn’t so broke that he couldn’t afford a drink for a friend.

However, after drying his hands, he saw Rebecca pulling money from her wallet. Once the money landed on the counter, Greg placed his hand to cover hers, pushing it and her money back towards her. He tried to retract his hand right away, but instead, it lingered, so her eyes moved up.

That was enough for Greg to snap out of whatever he was feeling. “Seriously, keep your money,” he said. “It is Thanksgiving. And let’s just say that your energy is…oddly welcome tonight.” 

There was also the fact that he also found himself grateful for Rebecca. Sure, there were bad moments, but there were good moments too. Even tonight had potential, as she listened to him, so Greg walked back over to the bar phone to put in the order at his favourite taco food truck that was always open late.

He was half-way through his order when he remembered that she wasn't feeling well. “Hey Rebecca," he said, putting his hand over the phone, "are you sure that you're okay to eat something?”

She nodded again. “I can always get take-out for tomorrow. Hey, how about we use your Netflix account at my place? I already owe you a drink, and I bought another bottle of the whiskey you liked at my party.”

“Deal,” he said, finishing up the order before hanging up. While tacos didn't have the best history with them, Greg was intent on re-writing that history sooner than later. He just hoped that she wasn't back on the vegan train.

Picking up his coat, Greg felt his keys in his pocket. "I take it you need a lift?"

"Yeah, I took an uber here," she said as she slid off her stool, seemingly in a better mood than before.

He followed her out, hearing her footsteps retreat while he locked the door. When he turned, Rebecca was nowhere to be found. Considering her habit of ditching him in the past, Greg shook his head, trying to remind himself that wasn’t the case tonight.

To distract himself, he tossed his keys up in the air a few times. He brought his head up as he caught them the third time, and saw Rebecca standing next to his car. She waved at him, and Greg had to admit, there were plenty of worse ways to leave work.

He unlocked the car doors, but she waited for him to get to the car before getting inside. Following suit, Greg said, "Do you mind if we make a stop first? We'll be ten minutes tops.”

"No, not at all," Rebecca replied. This way, her stomach could settle more.

With a grin, Greg started the car, knowing that traffic would be pretty scarce. Most people were celebrating the holiday in their homes with family, so as he guided the car down the empty streets, he felt his mind wander.

However, it didn’t take long for Greg to push his luck. He had glanced her way a few times, so it was only fair that Rebecca eventually called him on it. "What?"

"I was just trying to figure out why you came to Home Base when you thought I had quit." Not that it was bad information, but he had avoided telling people that he had begged to get his job back.

And it was a good question. At the time, all Rebecca thought she wanted was a drink, but she had alcohol at home. Plus, it did take her a few minutes after arriving at Home Base to remember that Greg had told her he was quitting.

Then she realized exactly why she had come. "You weren't answering your phone, Paula was lecturing me, Heather was out and I needed someone to talk to." She didn’t know where Greg lived, so she went to the one place she associated with him.

"Why me, though?"

The funny thing was, to Rebecca, he should have known that answer better than anyone. Before Greg left her place after their date, he had told her that they got each other. Even if she followed up that admission by requiring his approval in her life, that didn't mean she didn't understand his advice meant something to her.

"You tell me what I need to hear. I may not like it, but you've been right about some of the decisions I've made," she said. In fact, the more Rebecca thought about it, he was right about most of them.

Greg gave a slow nod. "What about this time?"

"What do you think?" she replied with a scoff, to which he responded with a casual shrug. "Where are we off to?"

"The hospital. Apparently, I missed signing one of the many forms."

In everything that had happened tonight, Rebecca had almost forgotten his casual mention of his dad's hospital bills. It was no doubt connected to why Greg was still bartending, but knowing him, he didn’t want to talk about that. All Rebecca could hope was that he knew she meant what she said about what Greg was doing.

If nothing else, it made her want to know the man who inspired that kind of action. "Can I meet him?"

Turning into the hospital parking lot, Greg navigated around a few cars to find a parking spot. "As much as I want to say no, he would be pissed if I didn't introduce you two."

Her head jerked back. "You told him about me?"

"About the crazy lawyer who moved here from New York?" Greg smirked as he noticed her gawking. After taking the keys from the ignition, he added, "I might have also mentioned that we're friends."

Satisfied, Rebecca opened her door and followed him into the hospital. Based on the way she continuously looked around the hallways, Greg assumed she hadn't come here before, which technically wasn't a bad thing. Then suddenly, she would stop to make a few kids smile, or high-five an elderly patient for some reason. There was one particular cancer patient who had stopped to talk to them afterwards. He wanted to keep moving, but seeing the way Rebecca had picked up the woman’s mood almost instantly caused him to pause, maybe even grin a little.

Then she said, "You two make a very sweet couple,” and his face completely changed.

"Wow, now _that_ is the reaction every girl wants to see from her boyfriend," Rebecca said, catching his expression. "Way to be subtle, Serrano.” She rolled her eyes, then turned back around. “Honestly, we tried, but timing wasn't right. But so far, so good on friendship, right?"

He cleared his throat before nodding, so Rebecca said goodbye to the lady. At this rate, it didn't feel like they'd ever get to his dad's room, but after a few more unintentional stops, they had made it. Greg knocked on the door and opened it slightly.

"You do realize that you've fulfilled your family quota for Thanksgiving, right?" his dad said the moment he saw Greg.  "I thought I told you to get something to –"

Greg had pulled the door open further and the moment his dad realized that he didn't come alone, he stopped talking. "Dad, this is Rebecca."

Seeing him sprung Rebecca right into action. "Well, this clears up that Greg gets his looks from his mom.” Hitting his arm as she walked by, she added, “Greg, you never told me what a stud your dad is."

Greg pursed his lips. "And I forgot how much of a kissass you are to parents."

"Don't be smart, son," his dad said, clearly enjoying the attention. "Nice to meet you, Rebecca."

And that was how long it took for Greg to regret the decision to have these two meet. "While I'm afraid to leave you two alone, I have to track down the doctor."

Neither of them seemed to care, as no doubt, embarrassing childhood stories were on tap, but there was no stopping that. Therefore, the quicker he found whatever form he needed to sign, the sooner he could avoid real damage.

Then again, it was also nice to hear his dad’s laughter echo down the hallway.

It took about five minutes for Greg to find one of the nurses who could help him, but once everything was sorted out, he debated how he was going to approach the room. It wasn’t like he always trusted Rebecca’s judgement and there were details about their relationship that he didn’t want his dad to know.

When Greg reached the room, that dilemma was solved for him, as his dad struggling with his pillow. Rebecca got up to help, but Greg spoke up as he entered, "Oh hey, I got that."

"It's a pillow placement, I think that I can handle it," she replied.

Greg put his hands up to let her try, but based on personal experience, he wasn't confident.

"The nurse moved it earlier and ahh – there's the sweet spot," his dad said, surprising Greg. Sure enough, Rebecca responded to that by giving Greg an _I told you_ look. Between that and the look on his dad's face, Greg was reminded of his earlier regret. "Any chance you'd go into nursing to let my son go to business school?"

Rebecca mouth gaped before pointing towards Greg. "Didn't he mention that he's looking into night classes?"

"What?"  It took saying that for Greg to realize why she had said that. _Nicely played_ , he thought, recovering quickly. "I haven't yet, but I'm considering it as an option when my savings build up a little."

His dad laughed. "Something tells me I'm going to be glad to have you around, Rebecca." He looked between Greg and Rebecca and sighed. "But don't let me keep you. You young folks have some fun."

Stepping forward, Rebecca took one of his dad’s hands and shook it. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Serrano."

Once Rebecca was outside of earshot, Greg walked up to the bed and put his hand on his dad's shoulder.

"She’s not for you, huh?" his dad asked, causing Greg to roll his eyes. Now wasn't the time for this conversation.

"Happy Thanksgiving dad."

Backing away, he left the room to find Rebecca scrolling through her phone, no doubt still thinking about the whole Josh situation.

“Wow, you weren’t kidding," he said, catching her attention. "You are great with parents.”

Her expression changed to one of pride as they started walking down the hallway. “I may have made it into the Chan family photo.”

“Impressive, his parents aren’t easy people to please.” Or at least, he didn't have that much luck with them. But Greg supposed that being a hot shot lawyer in New York was a decent in for Rebecca. Then again, he also knew that while she wanted to suck up, her real ambition had taken a hit tonight. When her face fell a bit, he added, “Which… wasn’t what you wanted... right.”

“It’s fine," she said, trying to shake off her prior worries, but it wasn't enough for Greg to believe her and she realized it quickly. "I mean… you're right, but he's happy, so I'm happy. I guess."

Greg couldn't help but chuckle at that, now understanding why that phrase didn't satisfy her earlier. While it technically answered the question, it was the laziest answer possible.

He noticed that she was about to say more, only her phone started buzzing right when they were going out the main doors.  “I need to get this, do you mind?”

“Not at all,” he said, "I'll be in the car."

With a nod, she walked over to the other side of the pavement and picked up her phone. “Hey Paula, what’s up?”

True to his word, Greg kept walking, so he couldn't hear much of the conversation. Some muffled words got through, causing him to grin, but by the time he got in his car, he took the silence to reflect on today. It wasn't an overly notable day, and technically, it was far from the one he had in mind, but all things considered, his life was still pretty good.

A couple of minutes later, he heard Rebecca open the passenger door. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, Paula was just freaking out over something that didn’t matter.” Rebecca didn't feel like sharing with Greg that there was a chance Paula was listening right now. Apparently, the pin was still in her bag, and Paula wanted to hear what was going on, only to lecture her about hanging out with Greg. While on paper, Paula was right, Greg had lifted her spirits and Rebecca didn't want that to end. “So what place is open this late on Thanksgiving?”

As they were nearby, Greg was able to point out the food truck a few blocks away. “Normally, they're closed as of five minutes ago, but I made a deal with the owner, so our order should be ready.”

Upon seeing that they were getting tacos, Rebecca bit her lip, expecting the worst. However, Greg didn't seem fazed by it. When they arrived, he paid for what he ordered for her, joking that most of them had pork, so she elbowed his side before they got back to his car.

Unfortunately, the silence got Greg thinking again, reminding him of the last time they spent time together alone.

_All I can see is what this night could have been._

No matter how many times he had insisted that it was water under the bridge, he still couldn't forgive and forget that easily. Sure, Greg knew he wasn’t blameless in this. He knew that he wasn't Rebecca’s first choice, that he probably wouldn't ever be, and he insisted on trying anyway because, well, her first choice was unavailable.

But something else happened out of that crazy situation that he didn't expect. Maybe they weren't meant to be more than friends, but she trusted his opinion. A lot. For some reason.

He cleared his throat, successfully gaining her attention. "Hey, he said, "I don't want to break the mood or anything, but can you do me a favour?"

Rebecca shrugged, as anything that distracted her by how good the tacos smelled was probably wise. "I think that's possible."

"I'm flattered that you come to me, but don't take my word as gospel either," he said. It wasn't like he was a great role model, as he was stuck in this place, not sure where his life was going. Considering she insisted on coming here for a change, and all he wanted was to get out of West Covina, he wasn't the best person to give her advice.

Although, that didn't mean that some of what he told her didn't have merit. "Don't get me wrong, I... _really_ disagree with some of the decisions that you've made, but you shouldn't have to change for your friends."

Because even though he still believed that they get each other, they were still different people who saw the world differently. "Sure, sometimes you make misguided choices based on butter commercials, but you wouldn't have made it this far without some good decisions,” he said. “Trust in those."

She nodded slowly, a little buzzed over all the advice that he had given her tonight. It seemed to be a bit over the place, but that helped her realize that Greg was just as lost as she was. That made what she said next easier. "On one condition. Sign up for night classes within the next month."

He knew that she was serious, but he couldn't help but laugh. "I told you. I don't have the savings to cover that."

What he didn’t realize was that Rebecca had expected that answer. "I can help you out."  If she could spend ten grand for a dumb reason, then she could help an actual friend. "It's the least I can do after everything I've put you through."

When his eyes narrowed, she repeated what she said in her head, realizing how it might have sounded to him. "Wait, don't say anything," she blurted. Greg pursed her lips, obliging her, so she sighed in relief. "I’m not trying to apologize again, and I know it might sound like I'm trying to buy your forgiveness, but I'm not. I genuinely want to help. It can be a loan if you want, but I..."

She tried to finish that thought, but the right words weren't coming, so she looked up at him and shrugged.

This time, he held back his reaction, but he made a mental note of the one time Rebecca Bunch was lost for words. "I'll think about it. The loan, I mean."  She smiled, so he looked back to the road before turning the car to go down her street. "You have a deal otherwise."

Her smile widened as he pulled up to her place. Intent on keeping him to his word, Rebecca held out her hand. He looked at skeptically, but it wouldn't faze her. "Call it a professional habit, but I'm not leaving this car until you shake it."

He rolled his eyes, but the way his lips quirked up told a different story. Once he shook her hand, Rebecca opened the door.  "You still coming in for Netflix?"

"The invite is still open?"

"Absolutely."

When he nodded, Rebecca grabbed both bags of tacos before he could change his mind and headed to her door. She could have sworn that he muttered something behind her, but it didn't matter.

Although she didn't miss his comment about her forgetting to lock her door again. This time was by accident, as her upset stomach had clouded over her judgement. However, she felt much better now, so much that she didn't think her tacos were going to last the night.

What, she had to eat too? And it wasn't like her supper had stuck.

After leaving the tacos on her coffee table, Rebecca dropped her purse on the kitchen counter, grinning as she grabbed the whiskey bottle and a few glasses. In the meantime, Greg had set up his Netflix account on her television, making a few quips about the stuff in his queue.

They exchanged a few jokes before Rebecca joined him. Picking up his glass of whiskey, she said, “For the record, I still owe you a drink, but… this is a start.”

“Okay, thanks,” he replied, taking the glass and having a sip. He had to admit, it felt good after a long day.

As Greg kept scrolling, she found that she was more focused on her food. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore, so she grabbed her bag and took out the first taco she found.

At this point, hearing him laugh in response to her spontaneity felt expected. "How are you eating tacos right now?" he asked.

"Likely playing with fire, but I don't care. These taste amazing and I need sustenance." And she wasn't just saying that because she was genuinely hungry. True, Rebecca needed food of any persuasion, but she was confident that she would be venturing back to that food truck sometime.

Sure enough, Greg grinned before looking back to the screen. They continued to deliberate what to watch, as it was still Thanksgiving, which made Rebecca realize the one tradition that she could uphold this year, especially since she had less regrets about not spending it with her mother. She took the remote and put on the World Dog Awards, which ended up being a good choice, as their senses of humour were on display, and they traded tastes of tacos, even though Greg had insisted that he already tried everything.

If Rebecca had to be honest, it was really nice, hanging out with Greg, getting through one night as adults. She glanced his way, intent on sharing that thought, but stopped when she saw him fidgeting. As the pillow behind his back kept moving, she realized what was going on, so she put down her last taco and wiped her hands on her napkin. 

“Wow, like father like son.” He was likely going to protest, but her hands reached the pillow first and moved it to where she had moved his dad's in the hospital.  “Better?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

She shrugged, giving him a grin before picking up her taco. “No one likes a hot butt, right?”

He stilled, grateful that she wasn't looking at him anymore. Maybe their friendship wasn't as hopeless as he thought. “Right.”

“By the way, thanks for being open to watching this,” she said.

It was a weird tradition, but when it came to Rebecca, unconventional was practically a way of life. Besides, he was enjoying it. “It was probably a better than the orphan whale documentary.”

“Still," she said, her mouth completely full of food. They shared a laugh before she swallowed. He watched as Rebecca put down her taco again, then turned to look straight at him. “Thank you. I really needed this.”

“Me too,” Greg replied, almost surprised by how much he meant it.

 

 

**~End~**

 

**Author's Note:**

> This happens in a world where the Chan's Thanksgiving dinner ends a little earlier and Rebecca’s stomach problems weren't as bad, so she had enough time to visit Greg. I had hoped to get it up before the last episode, but hopefully it’s still okay. I admit, it felt intimidating to write a one-shot for this show, because it’s so amazing, but it turned out that I had to try.


End file.
